Temperature measuring and/or control apparatus often utilize a plurality of thermocouples which are located at points remote from the apparatus. In order to facilitate the connection of thermocouple leads to respective thermocouple circuits in the apparatus and/or the replacement of the thermocouples, it is customary to provide mating plug and jack connectors with each pair of thermocouple lead wires. Typically, the jack or female connectors are mounted in panels which in turn are mounted on the apparatus, as on an instrument panel, to serve as terminal connections for the thermocouple circuits, the thermocouple lead wires being connected to jack connectors by corresponding plug or male connectors.
Various approaches to assembling the jack or plug connectors in panels have been taken, and some advantageously have utilized standard connectors which are useful either in the panels or as individual connectors. One approach, for example, utilizes respective metal adaptor clips to hold standard connectors to a metal faceplate, each adaptor clip being secured to the faceplate by two screws and to the side of the connector by another screw. Another approach utilizes brackets which extend around the rear of respective standard connectors and are secured to the faceplate by a number of screws. Such assemblies, however, are relatively difficult to assemble and, of more significance, suffer from a common drawback in that the wire connections to the back sides of the connectors ordinarily must be made before the connectors can be attached to the faceplates in generally parallel, laterally disposed relationship.
Still other approaches are known which allow the wire connections to be made after the connectors are mounted to the faceplate, but at the expense of having to use specially formed parts. The connector panel shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,823,364, for example, requires the use of a special plastic part for mounting the contact members thereof to the faceplate and bringing them to the rear of the assembly for greater ease in attaching the wires interconnecting same to the apparatus instrumentation. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,179,915 another connector panel is shown which requires specially shaped contact members that are secured in paired relation to the rear of a faceplate by means of mating housing sections and a U-shaped mounting plate. Still another connector panel is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,046,516, such utilizing specially shaped separable connector units and T-shape guideways for mounting the units to a panel board.